7 pmThe committee gives each side a half-hour to present final comments. Both lines to speak are long, but the supporters outnumber the opposition by at least 10 to one.

"We are Republicans and Christians," says an LD 1020 supporter standing next to her husband at the podium. "Love thy neighbor as yourself. The young people get this, you know?"

8 pmThe remaining crowd gives the committee a standing ovation.

"We said our piece," says a woman in a red blazer as she pushes open the auditorium doors. This echoes the last word of the night's testimony, from a same-sex marriage supporter: "Bring Maine to peace, not to pieces."

Campaign crash The single biggest factor contributing to the repeal of same-sex marriage in Maine was how pro-marriage forces used — or failed to use — the media to their advantage.

California matters For four years, and 10,000 same-sex nuptials, Massachusetts has had a monopoly on gay marriage in the United States.

Granite grind Much of New England joined the march toward marriage equality this year, but in the comparably conservative Granite State, its legalization has heated up a partisan battle for control of the governorship in 2010, promising that this political war isn't quite over.

Crossing the line When an increasingly conservative newspaper company fires an already publicly conservative employee for apparently offending a liberal interest group, it leaves some people scratching their heads.

Fighting back Thanks to a federal law that codifies discrimination against same-sex couples, more than 15,000 legally married couples (and an untold number of children) are being denied basic benefits, such as the right to file their taxes jointly, or Social Security payments and health-insurance subsidies.